U.S. Launches Project to Enable Sharing of Scanned Books by NonPrint Readers
By Judy Wilkinson (jwilkins@panix.com)
The project described below is unfortunately currently available only in the United States. But it has far-reaching implications as a model for distributing books throughout the world to nonprint readers.
Converting books from print to nonprint formats
As a totally blind professor of English, I started scanning printed materials (mostly text books) for my own personal use in 1988. Scanning wasn't then and still isn't easy. Using special optical character recognition software and a flatbed scanner, one scans text into the computer either turning each page over-as when copying multiple pages on a photocopy machine, or cutting up works and feeding pages through a document feeder. The scanned material can then be saved in one of a number of word processor or text formats to be "read" with speech output, braille, or screen enlarging and enhancing formats. Once the text is scanned however, it may contain a number of print errors, and depending on one's purpose or willingness and ability to slog through those errors while reading- h's turn into n's, f's become t's, s's become 5's-- the computer version of the text must be cleaned up. Even though such scanning/cleaning efforts often take hours, it was and is worth it in order to read printed material, especially books which are available from no other sources.
"Too bad," I often thought, "I have no way to share my hard work with others who can't read the printed page." All that work and only one person benefited. Even worse, as I cranked out books of particular interest to me: computer and software manuals, opera librettos, cookbooks, books on wine, knitting and writing, I wondered whether someone else might at that very moment be laboriously scanning and cleaning up the very same work: two of us duplicating such arduous efforts.
Bookshare.org arrives
Now 14 years after my first scanning efforts, my dreams are about to be answered. Bookshare.org was officially launched on February 22, 2002. This project enables authorized users to access a daily-growing number of scanned books--fourteen thousand to date.
Bookshare.org is a new online community enabling individuals in the United States with visual or other print disabilities and organizations which meet the needs of such individuals) to legally share scanned books. Bookshare.org takes advantage of a special exemption in the U.S. copyright law that permits the reproduction of publications into specialized formats for the disabled reader.
However, even without registering, anyone can use the site's search functions to locate books already in the collection and also download any book marked as being in the Public Domain.
How to become a member
Bookshare.org charges a $25 setup fee and a $50 annual subscription fee to those U.S. citizens and residents who submit an application as well as proof of a disability which prevents them from reading print. Those under 18 must have a guardian's or qualifying agency's authorization. All necessary forms and information for joining can be found on the web site.
Where do the digital books come from?
The Bookshare.org collection is built and shaped primarily by its community of members and supporters. By scanning a book to submit to the collection, a Bookshare.org member can provide all other members with access to that book.
Once scanned books are received, numerous volunteers check for errors and otherwise prepare them for future downloading. Books must meet uniform scanning guidelines (available on the web site). Unfortunately, a number of books (such as dozens I've scanned over the years) do not meet those scanning guidelines and will not be accepted. However, keeping the guidelines in mind, I will share all my future scanning efforts with this wonderful project.
Who is sponsoring Bookshare?
Web site information states, "Bookshare.org is a project of the Benetech Initiative, a nonprofit organization. The Benetech team originally developed the Arkenstone reading systems, and is now using the power of technology to introduce new projects such as Bookshare.org."
Learn more about Benetech at its web site http://www.benetech.org.
Implications for nonprint readers everywhere
My dream would be even more perfect if everyone in the world could access materials from a web site such as Bookshare.org. Electronically-available texts of all types represent one of the most exciting developments for nonprint readers in recent years.
Bookshare.org contains the following essential components necessary to replicate this model:
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An entity (such as Benetech) to fund and operate a website where texts can be gathered and distributed;
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A community of persons with the capability to scan and share books;
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A uniform set of guidelines for formatting submissions and assuring acuracy and completeness;
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An applicable copyright law that permits such a project to be carried out;
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A means for verifying that applicants meet eligibility standards; and
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A means for verifying age so that books containing material deemed unsuitable are not downloaded by children without appropriate authorization.
In each country, in every language: the efforts of an individual could provide reading material for millions: now that's worth scanning for.
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